MONTREAL — Hours away from an unprecedented potential shutdown at the country's two biggest railways, business groups ratcheted up their pleas for Ottawa to step in and prevent a work stoppage that would upend supply chains — while the prime minister stressed a deal at the table is the best outcome.
"It affects everybody," said Dennis Darby, CEO of the latter, in a phone interview."Rail is that primary connection to the ports.Under the Canada Labour Code, the federal labour minister can refer the dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board for binding arbitration and prohibit a strike or lockout in the interim, the business groups said.
"Millions of Canadians, workers, of farmers, of businesses right across the country are counting on both sides to do the work to get a resolution." Chief operating officer Andrew McLellan said the move, which will last"for the foreseeable future," stems from the shutdown on new rail shipments coupled with poor market conditions.
Canadian Pacific barred virtually all new shipments on Tuesday morning, and CN did the same Wednesday to avoid leaving any goods stranded on the tracks.